Encouragement
Encouragement programs focus on bringing the fun back to walking and bicycling while increasing public awareness of the benefits of walking and biking to school. Events and activities help increase the number of students walking and biking to school. The activities often include a variety of special events and contests, outreach campaigns and presentations to school and community groups. Encouragement programs can be used to educate parents, school personnel, students and the community about the health and safety benefits of a successful Safe Routes to School program. Encouragement programs do not need much funding, but their success depends on a school champion or group of volunteers for sustained support.
School Specific Driving Circulation Maps
School related traffic congestion is common at most schools in the district. Congestion typically occurs in specific locations and could be reduced if parents who drive choose alternative routes to school.
After review by the District, administration, and parents from the affected school, the District should consider developing circulation maps for distribution via school newsletters and websites. The circulation map should be graphically simple and recommend routes for motorists and pedestrians, in addition to locations of on- and off-site loading zones, crossing guards and traffic signals. The District and affected school should review the circulation plan annually and modify accordingly.
School Specific Driving Circulation Maps
School related traffic congestion is common at most schools in the district. Congestion typically occurs in specific locations and could be reduced if parents who drive choose alternative routes to school.
After review by the District, administration, and parents from the affected school, the District should consider developing circulation maps for distribution via school newsletters and websites. The circulation map should be graphically simple and recommend routes for motorists and pedestrians, in addition to locations of on- and off-site loading zones, crossing guards and traffic signals. The District and affected school should review the circulation plan annually and modify accordingly.
Walk and Bike to School Day/Week/Month
Walk and Bike to School Day/Week/Month are special events encouraging students to try walking or bicycle to school. The most well-known of these is International Walk to School Day, a major annual event that attracts millions of participants in over 30 countries in October.
Walk and bike to school days can be held yearly, monthly, or even weekly, depending on the level of support and participation from students, parents and school and local officials. Some schools organize more frequent days – such as weekly Walking/Wheeling Wednesdays or Walk and Roll Fridays – to give people an opportunity to enjoy the event on a regular basis. Parents and other volunteers accompany the students, and staging areas can be designated along the route to school where groups can gather and walk or bike together. These events can be promoted through press releases, articles in school newsletters and posters and flyers for students to take home and circulate around the community.
Suggested Route to School Maps
Suggested Route to School maps show stop signs, signals, crosswalks, sidewalks, trails, overcrossings and crossing guard locations around a school. These can be used by families to identify the best way to walk or bike to school.
Liability concerns are sometimes cited by cities or school districts as reasons not to publish walking route maps. While no walking route will ever be completely free of pedestrian safety concerns, a well-defined walking route should provide the greatest physical separation between walking students and traffic, expose students to the lowest traffic speeds and have the fewest roadway crossings.
Friendly Walking/Biking Competitions (Incentive Programs)
Contests and incentive programs reward students by tracking the number of times they walk, bike, carpool or take transit to school. Contests can be individual, classroom competition or inter-school competitions. Local businesses may be willing to provide incentive prizes for these activities. Students and classrooms with the highest percentage of students walking, biking or carpooling compete for prizes and “bragging rights.” Small incentives, such as shoelaces, stickers and bike helmets, can be used to increase participation. It can also be effective to allow different grades and schools (high school vs. grade school vs. middle school) to compete against each other in a mobility challenge.
Each of the examples of programs below can be modified for students who live too far away from school to walk or bike. Modification can include walking or biking at lunch time or gym class. Also, students can count the miles walked or biked with parents and guardians outside of the school day. Examples of walking and biking competitions include:
On-campus walking clubs (mileage clubs) – Children are issued tally cards to keep track of “points” for the each time they walk, bike, bus or carpool to or from school. When they earn a specified number of points they get a small prize and are entered in a raffle for a larger prize. At the end of the school year, there is a drawing for major prizes.
Pollution Punchcard – This year-round program is designed to encourage school children and their families to consider other options for getting to school, such as biking, walking, carpooling and public transportation. Every time a student walks, bikes or carpools to school, a parent volunteer or school representative stamps or punches the card. Then students receive a reward when the punch card is complete.
Walk and Bike Challenge Week/Month – This month-long encouragement event is generally held in conjunction with National Bike Month in May. Students are asked to record the number of times they walk and bike during the program. The results are tallied and competing school or classrooms compare results. Students who are unable to walk or bike to school can participate by either walking during a lunch or gym period or getting dropped off further away from the school and walking with their parents the last several blocks.
Golden Sneaker Award – Each class keeps track of the number of times the students walk, bike, carpool or take the bus to school and compiles these figures monthly. The class that has the most participation gets the Golden Sneaker Award. (The award can be created by taking a sneaker, mounting it to a board like a trophy, and spray painting it gold.)
Walk Across America/New York/Hudson River – This is a year-round program and is designed to encourage school children to track the number of miles they walk throughout the year. Students will be taught how to track their own mileage through learning about how many steps or blocks are in a mile and will also learn about places in the United States on their way. Teacher or volunteer support is required. Each of these programs can use incentives to increase participation and reward the students for their efforts. Examples of incentives include:
- Shoelaces
- Pedometers
- Stickers and bike decals
- Reflective zipper pulls
- Bicycle helmets
- Raffle tickets for a bicycle from a local bike shop
- Early dismissal
- Extra recess time
Back-to-School Blitz
Families set transportation habits during the first few weeks of the school year, and many families are not aware of the many transportation options available to them. Because of this, most families will develop the habit of driving to school. A “Back to School Blitz” can be used at the beginning of the school year to promote bus, carpool, walking and bicycling as school transportation options. The “Back to School Blitz” includes many of the other programs in this Toolkit, including Suggested Route Maps, articles in school newsletters and enforcement activity. Additional elements include:
Families set transportation habits during the first few weeks of the school year, and many families are not aware of the many transportation options available to them. Because of this, most families will develop the habit of driving to school. A “Back to School Blitz” can be used at the beginning of the school year to promote bus, carpool, walking and bicycling as school transportation options. The “Back to School Blitz” includes many of the other programs in this Toolkit, including Suggested Route Maps, articles in school newsletters and enforcement activity. Additional elements include:
A packet given to each family containing information about school transportation options, including:
- Cover letter signed by the principal encouraging parents to create transportation habits with students that promote physical activity, reduce congestion, increase school safety and improve air quality
- School transportation maps or suggested routes to school maps that include bicycling and walking routes, transit and school bus stops, drop-off and parking areas and bike parking locations
- Transit schedules
- Pledge forms about reducing the number of times that families drive to school; entries go in raffle for a prize donated by local businesses
In addition to the packet, the following strategies can be included:
- Table at back-to-school night with materials and trained volunteers who can answer questions about transportation issues
- Post “schoolpool map” showing all student households as dots; parents then check the corresponding school directory listing to see families located in their neighborhood who are interested in walking, biking and carpooling to school together. Only families who opt into the directory are listed
- Article in first school newsletter about transportation options and resources
- Enforcement activities, such as school zone speed and crosswalk enforcement
- Strict enforcement of parking policies during first month of school (and throughout the year if possible)
Stop and Walk
This year-round campaign is designed to encourage parents to stop several blocks from school and walk the rest of the way to school. Not all students are able to walk or bike to school. They may live too far away from school to walk or their route to school may include hazardous traffic situations, such as a major arterial road. This type of campaign is used to allow students who are unable to walk or bike to school a chance to participate in school walking programs. It also helps reduce traffic congestion at the school.
A designated drop-off area is selected along a safe walking and/or biking route to the school. Parents, teachers, or volunteers are available to assist students the remainder of the distance to the school. This can also be corrdinated with a walking or biking school bus stop.
The program can be included as a part of other encouragement activities, such as the Golden Sneaker Award, Walk Across California and the Mileage Clubs. An additional benefit to implementing a “Stop and Walk” program is reduced traffic volume directly surrounding a school. Reducing the number of motor vehicles in the school environment increases traffic safety and encourages walking and biking to school.
Walking School Bus
Parents and guardians often cite distrust of strangers and the dangers of traffic as reasons why they do not allow their students to walk to school. Walking School Buses are a way to make sure that children have adult supervision as they walk to school. Walking School Buses are formed when a group of children walk together to school and are accompanied by one or two adults (usually parents or guardians of the children on the “bus”). As the walking school bus continues on the route to school they pick up students at designated meeting locations.
Walking school buses can be informal arrangements between neighbors with children attending the same school or official school-wide endeavors with trained volunteers and structured meeting points with a pick-up timetable. More information about Walking School Buses is available at the end of this document.
Bike Trains
A bicycle train is very similar to a walking school bus; groups of students accompanied by adults bicycle together on a pre-planned route to school. Routes can originate from a particular neighborhood or, in order to include children who live too far to bicycle, begin from a park, parking lot or other meeting place. They may operate daily, weekly or monthly. Bike trains help address parents’ concerns about traffic and personal safety while providing a chance for parents and children to socialize and be active.
Bike trains are best suited for older students that have undergone bicycle safety training. Also, helmets and parent waivers should be required before participating in a bike train. Consider including:
- Poster contest
- Pledge cards
